If the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, maybe Jesus could have used some extra promo from a ’90s boy band. At least it would make us laugh — as do the titular dudes of Altar Boyz, the popular off-Broadway musical making its Toronto debut.

It’s a concert by a fictional boy band performing cheesy pop songs and pelvic-thrusting moves similar to The Backstreet Boys and their ilk, except that the Boyz sing about Christianity. That’s about it — the same one joke for 90 minutes — but the enthusiasm and energy of the cast keep it going.

The band consists of leader Matthew (Ken Chamberland); closeted Mark (Jeigh Madjus), who has a thinly disguised crush on Matthew; loud, dim-witted rebel Luke (Eric Morin); flirtatious Latin hombre Juan (Aidan deSalaiz); and token Jew Abraham (Stephen Roberts). Backed by a live band, the quintet tells their story and preaches The Word in songs like “Church Rulez”, “La Vida Eternal” and “God Put the Rhythm in Me” (with Mark belting the suggestive backup line, “Put it in me!”) The songs aren’t much worse than most real Backstreet or ’N Sync hits, and director Tim French’s choreography manages to be simultaneously brilliant and ludicrous.

It’s a funny concept, though done in Satire Lite. Authors/composers Kevin Del Aguila, Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker deliberately choose not to apply the subversive bite that, say, South Park would give it. Altar Boyz is about as inoffensive as you can possibly get with lampooning religion. (Or boy bands.)

But it works, because every band member is a distinct, believable comic character with his own obsessions or eccentricities. And the cast is perfectly chosen for each part. Morin is funny when he yells things at the audience in his tough-guy bravado; Chamberland has a hilarious number in which he expresses his passion for a female audience member — passion for waiting until the wedding night, that is. Musically speaking, though, deSalaiz Madjus is the show’s Canadian Idol, blessing Mark with a lovely tenor voice.

And there are cute visual gimmicks like the DX12 Soul Sensor, a machine the band uses to measure how many unsaved souls are left in the audience. The show includes a “Confession Session” based on supposed audience submissions, as well as a rap about Christ’s miracles.

Altar Boyz is good, harmlessly silly fun. If you know any religious folks with a sense of humour, invite them along.